Jet Black
by Fatgomez
Summary: Lionpaw is the most popular cat in his Clan. He's a skilled hunter and fighter, and he's brave. His litter mate, Twigpaw, lives in his shadow. One night Lionpaw receives a message from StarClan. The Clans are about to face a great danger, and only one cat can save them - Twigpaw. Lionpaw must give up his ambitions and help Twigpaw become the cat StarClan needs him to be. (T)
1. Prologue

**Prologue **

It was silent. A beautiful silver tabby she-cat sat down beside a massive tom. The dark tom looked up from a pool of sparkling water. "Silverstep, you do realize how much power this cat will have in their paws?"

Silverstep lashed her long tail. "If we don't do this, the Clans will be destroyed, Hawkstar," she hissed.

Hawkstar let out a sigh. The other StarClan cats weren't even sure if a living cat could handle such power. This power wasn't the kind of power the Three had. It was not special, not magical. It was merely a choice. The Clans would have to face a problem like no other, and only one cat could fix it. It had to be a strong, brave cat. They had to follow the warrior code and stay loyal to their Clan. This, however, was not the cat with the power. Their littermate would possess all these qualities in the beginning. They would have to sacrifice themselves in order to ensure their lesser littermate rose to the top.

Another cat padded up to the pool. Hawkstar dipped his broad head in greetings. "Hello, Yellowstar."

Yellowstar flexed his claws and stared at the shimmering pool of water. "It is time," he rasped.

Silverstep nodded, a sadness glittering in her blue eyes. She leapt into the pool, sending an arc of shimmering water into the air.

A distressed wail sounded from the nursery. Whitestream scrambled out of his den with herbs in his jaws. The black and white medicine cat called for his apprentice, Hollypaw. Hollypaw dropped a stick with mousebile on the end and raced after him. As Whitestream entered the nursery, he felt a sense of crowdedness close in on him. There were only two other cats in the spacious den. The birthing queen, Rabbitleap, gave a gasp of pain. Her mate, Tigermist, nuzzled her and curled around her. Whitestream ushered him out with a whisk of his black and white tail. Tigermist gave a reluctant glance at his mate before padding out.

The queen's black and white flank was heaving, and her swollen belly was as round as ever. Hollypaw stuck a strong stick in between Rabbitleap's jaws. Whitestream placed his firm paws on the queen's belly, feeling for kits. "The first one is coming," he grunted, guiding the kit out of its mother's belly with strong paws.

The kit slid out smoothly. Hollypaw broke the slimy sac with her teeth and placed the kit beside its mother's stomach. It immediately started to yowl and suckle. "It's a tom," Whitestream purred.

The kit was large for being just born, and it had a brilliant orange tabby pelt. It had huge paws and a strong, clear meow already. Whitestream thought he heard whispers, but the den was empty. Shrugging off the feeling, the medicine cat and his apprentice helped Rabbitleap give birth to her second kit. It was tiny. It had a plain, dusty brown pelt. It seemed as if its fur clung to its bones. "It's not breathing," Hollypaw hissed.

Whitestream quickly licked the kit's fur the wrong way, warming it up. After a few more frantic licks, the kit still wasn't breathing. Whitestream set it down, trying to think. Then, Whitestream felt something move his paws. It was as if something was moving his paws _for him. _He felt himself lean down to whisper something into the little kit's ear.

_Wake up, little one. The time for you to perish is not before you had any time at all. _

The tiny kit turned its head and opened its eyes for a brief moment. Its eyes were an icy blue color, and Whitestream swore he thought he saw another cat in place of his reflection. The black and white medicine cat jerked his head back. The tiny kit let out a gasp and wailed. Hollypaw purred and placed it beside Rabbitleap. "Thank you," sighed the queen, wrapping her tail around her kits.

Whitestream blinked. The den suddenly felt open again. The sense of crowdedness was gone. Tigermist rushed in, showering his mate with affectionate licks. "We should name them right now," Tigermist purred.

"The little brown one looks as if he is as thin as a twig. His name shall be Twigkit," mewed Rabbitleap.

"The golden one looks as strong as a lion. He looks as if he is already a warrior. He should be called Lionkit."

Whitestream quickly padded out of the nursery. "What's wrong?" asked Hollypaw, flicking her russet tail.

Whitestream opened his mouth, then closed it. For once in his life, he was not sure.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy the first chapter of **_**Jet Black! **_**PLEASE REVIEW! I honestly won't get upset because of something bad in my story. Just don't say "YOUR STORY SUCKS AND UR UGLY LOL." I don't really mind "Your story is really cliché! I've seen the idea a million times! Your grammar is horrible and you need better characters." What I really want is, "Your story is nice and has a good idea, but you need to work on your character development. Some cats seem like they should have a different personality, but it looks like you just incorporate your own opinions. It wouldn't hurt to use a few new words here and there besides 'he' and 'it'. Try using blah blah etc." Give me advice instead of just telling me it stinks. **_

**Chapter 1**

Lionkit crouched down, lashing his long, golden tail. Twigkit was chewing on a scrawny mouse a few tail lengths away. Lionkit stalked through the undergrowth, placing each massive paw silently onto the dry ground. Specklekit smiled at Lionkit and flicked her ears at Twigkit. Specklekit's black, orange, and white fur stood out against the green fronds, but Twigkit's back was facing her. Lionkit flicked his tail, signaling for her to go. Specklekit turned and silently hopped up onto a ledge. She shifted her paws, waiting for the perfect moment.

_Thud!_

Specklekit slammed into Twigkit, rolling over in the dusty quarry floor. "This is _ThunderClan's_ prey, you mangy ShadowClan scum!" she hissed.

Twigkit squealed and squeezed himself out of Specklekit's grip. He raced towards the clump of ferns Lionkit was hiding in. Lionkit leapt from his hiding place, landing right on top of his smaller brother. He pinned Twigkit to the ground, growling. "You would be dead if this was a real battle!" Lionkit hissed.

The golden kit rolled off of his brother, flicking his tail. A tabby and white she cat padded up to the littermates, purring. "That was a great ambush, Lionkit!" '

"Thanks Leafsplash!" chirped Specklekit.

Twigkit folded his ears back and turned towards the nursery. "Aw Twigkit, I'm sorry! I didn't know it would hurt your feelings!" called Lionkit.

Twigkit flicked his tail. "It didn't hurt my feelings, Lionkit," murmured the tiny brown tom before padding into his den.

Specklekit folded one of her ears. "That was strange," she mewed.

Lionkit pinned his ears against his head. "I didn't mean to hurt his feelings! I thought it would be fun!"

Leafsplash gave a purr of affection. "It wasn't your fault, Lionkit."

Lionkit sighed. "I suppose so."

"Lionkit!" Tigermist padded into camp, a rabbit dangling from his jaws.

The grey tabby tossed the prey onto the fresh kill pile and raced up to his son. "Are you excited for your warrior ceremony?" he mewed, sitting down beside Lionkit.

"Yeah! I wonder who my mentor is going to be."

Tigermist's amber eyes glowed with pride. "I honestly think either Stormstar or Maplefur is going to be your mentor."

Lionkit glanced at the leader and his deputy. Maplefur's calico pelt shone in the bright sunlight. The two cats leaned in close to each other, glancing from cat to cat. Eventually Stormstar's icy blue eyes rested on Lionkit. _Does he really want me as his apprentice, _Lionkit thought. The Clan practically treated him as a senior warrior already. Many cats suspected he would be ThunderClan leader someday. Leafsplash dipped her head in farewell and padded off to find her sister. The sun was about to set, and it was time to share tounges.

Rabbitleap padded out of the nursery, Twigkit following behind. "Wanna play a game?" chirped Lionkit.

Twigkit opened his mouth to speak, but Specklekit's littermate, Greykit, interrupted. "Yeah! Let's play war!"

Specklekit, Greykit, and Applekit all grouped together. "We call ThunderClan!" yowled Applekit.

"Now the teams are uneven!" growled Lionkit.

"But you can beat us by yourself! You don't even _need _Twigkit!" hissed Specklekit playfully.

Twigkit folded his ears back, a hurt expression rippling across his pale brown face. "Of course I do!" yowled Lionkit.

Greykit rolled his eyes. "Fine. You can have him. It's not like he'll actually help you."

Twigkit shuffled closer to Lionkit. The massive golden kit rose to his paws. "Of course he will! He'll be a great warrior someday! Maybe even leader!"

Greykit backed away. He didn't say anything, but Lionkit obviously hadn't convinced him of Twigkit's abilities. "Let's just play…" mumbled Applekit.

"I'll be Greystar. Specklekit is my deputy, Speckleflight. Applekit can be Applefur. Lionkit will be Lionstar and Twigkit can be _Twigshadow_, because you're always hanging around in your brother's shadow." Greykit stuck his nose in the air as he ordered the kits around.

Lionkit let out a roar, leaping into the air. "ShadowClan, attack!" he yowled.

Lionkit tackled Greykit, sending them rolling into the quarry wall. Greykit let out a squeak, attempting to swipe at Lionkit's ear. The golden tabby tom dodged the bow, and squashed Greykit to the ground. Greykit squirmed out and darted under Lionkit's belly. Using a move Tigermist had taught him, Lionkit leapt into the air and turned, landing right on Greykit's back. Greykit crumpled under his weight and fell to the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Lionkit raised his paw to give Greykit a painful but harmless blow to the ears, but he heard his brother cry out for help. "Lionkit!"

Lionkit rolled off of Greykit and pounded over the dusty ground towards his brother. Twigkit was backed up against the wall, Specklekit and Applekit blocking him off. With a massive leap, Lionkit jumped onto Specklekit. He jumped off of the surprised she cat and pounced on Applekit. Lionkit was careful not to dig his claws into Applekit's bright russet pelt. Once Lionkit had him pinned, he turned to check on his brother. Twigkit had pounced onto Specklekit as soon as she had collapsed under Lionkit's weight. He was pummeling her side with tiny blows. "Okay! You win! Get off!" wailed Specklekit.

Lionkit hopped off of a panting Applekit and let out a victory yowl. "See? I told you Twigkit could be helpful! He's the one who made us win!"

Greykit prowled from the dark shadows of the quarry walls. "Yeah, but he couldn't have done it without you."

"Do you want another pummeling?" Lionkit growled, stepping closer to Greykit.

"No! Lionkit, its fine." Twigkit whispered.

Applekit and Specklekit awkwardly watched as Lionkit and Greykit gave each other hostile glares. "Goodnight Lionkit. Goodnight _Twigshadow_."

Lionkit hissed at Greykit as he spun around and slapped the massive golden tom in the face with his tail. Lionkit bit down on his grey tail, and Greykit yet out a yelp before scampering into the nursery. Applekit sent the two brothers a sympathetic glance before rushing after Greykit. Specklekit sat down next to Lionkit. The sun had set, and ThunderClan was getting ready to sleep. "I'm so sorry about Greykit…" she whispered.

Lionkit shrugged. "I handled it."

Tigermist and Rabbitleap padded up to Lionkit. They showered him with licks, washing off all the dust. "We just want you to know that we are _so_ proud of you. You'll make an excellent leader one day. We know you'll watch over your brother until the end."

Twigkit, who was standing off to the side, turned and fled into the shadows. Lionkit squirmed out of his parent's grip and turned to pad after his brother. "No, Lionkit. I'll go talk to him for once." mewed Specklekit.

Lionkit purred. "Thanks. Just let him know that our apprentice ceremony is tomorrow. Maybe that will cheer him up."

Specklekit nodded, then turned away. Lionkit hopped up onto a nearby ledge. It gave him a clear view of Silverpelt. "Oh StarClan, why can't my brother just stick up for himself?"

_**So it might be a while before the actual prophecy part because I have a ton more characters to introduce. I also have to establish relationships between the characters more. Ugh. Anyways, I'll try to update as soon as possible, maybe even later tonight, but it'll be a really short chapter. And I would also like to send a thanks to whoever my first follower was! I really appreciate it!**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Well… I guess the whole "update soon," thing never happened. I got sick, then I caught the lazy disease. I promise I'll update way more often now. Please tell me if there is a mistake in my writing. It's very easy to miss mistakes when I read over it!**_

**Chapter 2**

"Lionkit, wake up!"

Lionkit growled at the cat prodding his side. "Lionkit, your apprentice ceremony is today!"

The golden tom opened his eyes. Pale dawn light filtered through the bramble roof of the nursery and dappled the sleeping cats around him. Twigkit was grooming himself in the far corner. Specklekit was still prodding Lionkit with her paw. "Get up, lazy bones!"

Lionkit groaned and rolled over. Rabbitleap was still sleeping in her nest. "How long has the sun been up?" Lionkit whispered.

"It's not even over the trees yet," chirped Specklekit.

With a massive yawn, Lionkit rose to his paws. The dawn patrol had been held off so every cat could watch his ceremony. "ThunderClan is currently not in danger of any other Clans," Stormstar had announced, "We can afford to miss one dawn patrol in order to watch tomorrow's apprentice ceremony."

Lionkit started to groom the moss and feathers out of his fur with quick swipes. Specklekit woke up her litter mates, each one swatting at her in annoyance. By the time Lionkit had finished grooming his golden fur, the rest of ThunderClan was awake and walking around camp. Twigkit and Lionkit walked out of the nursery side by side and sat down against one of the quarry walls. Tigermist padded up to them with a mouse in his jaws. "I brought you something to eat before your ceremony."

Lionkit immediately began to dig into the fresh kill. Twigkit turned his head away. "Are you nervous?" sneered Greykit.

Twigkit stared at the ground. Lionkit stopped eating, but didn't say anything. He wanted to know how Twigkit would react. Greykit padded towards Twigkit, lashing his fluffy grey tail. "You should be proud to fight for your Clan, not shy away from it."

"I'm just worried I might mess up during the ceremony," Twigkit mumbled.

Greykit gave the small brown tom a sympathetic smile. "Oh, it's okay! Every cat in the Clan knows you're going to mess up anyway. You always do!"

Twigkit folded his ears and stepped back. Tension sparked between the two young toms. Lionkit stood up and faced Greykit. Lionkit narrowed his eyes, and lashed his tail. Greykit's eyes flashed with triumph before he turned around. Twigkit let out a tiny sigh. "You'll be fine," murmured Lionkit.

Twigkit shot a glance at the partially eaten mouse, then scampered away. Stormstar's yowl echoed off the quarry walls. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"

Rabbitleap and Tigermist sat together near the front, their eyes sparkling with pride. Greykit, Applekit, and Specklekit all sat together near the nursery. Leafsplash and a tom named Highleap sat with a group of senior warriors. Whitepaw, Ivypaw, and Ravenpaw all bunched together near a group of young warriors. Maplefur sat at the bottom of the Highledge, staring up at the clear, blue sky. It hadn't rained in days, and the clouds of dust made ThunderClan cats cough every day. Meetings and ceremonies were the main causes of the massive dust clouds.

Lionkit and Twigkit padded to the bottom of the Highledge, where a dusty clearing was carved out of the crowd. Stormstar's voice silenced the chatter of the ThunderClan cats below. "Lionkit and Twigkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior names, you shall be known as Lionpaw and Twigpaw. Leafsplash, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have shown yourself to be patient and skilled hunter. You will mentor Twigpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Twigpaw padded up to Leafsplash and touched noses. Leafsplash smiled at the young tom enthusiastically, and surprisingly, Twigpaw smiled back. The mentor and her apprentice sat side by side at the front of the crowd. "Lionpaw, I will mentor you myself. You show great potential, and I expect you to become a great warrior someday."

Stormstar hopped down from the Highledge and touched noses with Lionpaw. "Lionpaw! Twigpaw! Lionpaw! Twigpaw!" ThunderClan shouted the two apprentice's names into the blue sky.

Lionpaw held his head high. Twigpaw smiled, his head ducked with embarrassment. In the back of the crowd, Lionpaw spotted Greykit rolling his eyes. With an annoyed hiss, Lionpaw shot a glare at Greykit.

As the crowd parted, a dust cloud curled into the air, almost blocking out the sun. Coughing fits erupted throughout camp, and the ThunderClan cats retreated to their dens. A few cats escaped camp with hunting parties and border patrols. Stormstar pulled Lionpaw to the edge of camp, where the dust wasn't as bad. "Training starts this evening," Stromstar rasped.

Stormstar started to cough, and Lionpaw shuffled his paws awkwardly, sending more dust into the air. Stormstar dismissed his apprentice with a wave of his tail. Lionpaw scampered away, his mentor still coughing behind him.


End file.
